The Bordoodle (2024)

The Bordoodle was painted as part of a small series of animal portrait studies examining breed-specific form and expression. This piece focuses on texture and temperament — the way softness of fur, light, and colour work together to convey innocence without idealisation.

The composition draws the viewer close, removing background distractions in favour of intimacy. The warm green backdrop, loosely brushed and gestural, contrasts with the detailed modelling of the face, allowing the subject to emerge with immediacy and warmth. The eyes serve as the emotional anchor, reflecting both alertness and quiet vulnerability — a look familiar to anyone who has observed a young animal at rest.

While simple in structure, the portrait is a study in balance: the balance between light and shadow, detail and gesture, tenderness and precision. It captures that fleeting, almost weightless quality of youth before familiarity settles in.

Painted digitally in layered oil technique, The Bordoodle combines soft underpainting with higher-opacity strokes to replicate the feel of natural hair and depth. The palette is built around neutral greens and creams, with delicate violet-grey tones in the shadows to introduce tonal variation. Brushwork was intentionally varied — from broad sweeps in the background to fine impasto around the muzzle — to maintain energy and texture throughout the composition. The piece is both a technical exercise and a gentle celebration of form and light.